The present invention relates to a circuit breaker. More specifically, the invention provides a novel circuit breaker in which shielding members are selectively provided for the contacts, and the arcing voltage established across the contacts is quickly raised by the arc shielding members in order to effectively extinguish the arc.
In the conventional circuit breakers, the arc established across the contacts has tended to spread to conductors in the vicinities of the contacts, and it has not been possible to sufficiently increase the arcing voltage. Moreover, it has not been possible to establish the arc across desired contacts.